Faculty and Staff Pledge

As a faculty or staff member serving at one of America's 1,200 community colleges, I recognize and celebrate my role, working alongside my colleagues, in promoting and ensuring an educated U.S. citizenry and a globally competitive workforce. I affirm the need for a dramatic increase in the number of Americans earning postsecondary degrees and certifications to fulfill critical state and national goals. With the "completion agenda" as a national imperative, I have an obligation through my work to meet the challenge while holding firmly to traditional values of access, opportunity, and quality.

I Believe…

The student success and completion agenda is the future of community colleges.

In every student's potential and responsibility to succeed—and that an engaged student is more likely to persist in college.

The open door must not be a revolving door and that my college must take responsibility to create an environment that fosters student success.

That completion matters and that every student counts.

That community colleges serve as essential pathways to intellectual progress and economic prosperity for more than 13 million students.

That there are thousands of talented and committed people working "heart and soul" on the front lines of community colleges to increase student success and completion.

I Commit…

To a change in the community college culture, from an emphasis on access only to an emphasis on access and success.

To eliminating the attainment gaps that separate student groups on the basis of race, ethnicity, and family income, while increasing success rates for all students.

To acting on facts and proven research to make positive changes in the interest of student success and college completion.

To providing and/or engaging in development opportunities focused on evidence-based educational practice to improve student learning, persistence, and completion.

To reaching out to students by mentoring, encouraging, and guiding them toward college completion.

I Ask…

Everyone on my campus (trustees, administrators, faculty members, counselors, advisors, financial aid officers, staff members, student organizations, and students) to help examine current college practices, to identify ways to help students understand the added value of degrees and certifications, and to help them make progress toward their goals.

Every student to help one other student to succeed.

My students to commit, by attending class; being prepared; asking for help when needed; and engaging actively in discussion, assignments, and projects with me and with other students, both in and out of class.

Other faculty and staff members to join me by signing and sharing this commitment and call to action.

As a community college faculty/staff member, I commit and pledge to promote practices and strategies that will produce 50% more students with high-quality degrees and certificates by 2020. I call upon every sector and constituency of my college and community to join me in this work. Our democracy needs every single one of us.

National Institute for Staff & Organizational Development (NISOD)
Community College Leadership Program | College of Education |
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station, D5600 |
Austin, TX 78712-0378
Ph: (512) 471-7545 | Fax: (512) 471-9426 |Email